Monday, May 09, 2005

Stream of Consciousness Spoon Review

I've been staring at this cover since I opened it. I've got to say it's one of my favorite covers. It's so simple, but just beautiful. Looking in the booklet, I see that it's supposed to be like Little Red Riding Hood, but all I see is those Imperial Guards from "Return of the Jedi."


Since I'm so excited about this CD, I figure I'll just review it as I listen to it.

The Beast and Dragon, Adored
One of the three I had heard before. Oh so dark! That piano just puts chills down my spine. Man this song sounds like Bowie.

The Two Sides of Monsieur Valentine
Sounds like a great mix of "Girls Can Tell" and "Kill the Moonlight"....with strings? That's different. Typical Spoon sickening catchiness.

I Turn My Camera On
Disco/rock/Blondie beat with Michael Jackson singing. I love the Britt Daniel falsetto, and he's taking it to the max on this one. Very cool.

My Mathematical Mind
Sounds very familiar right away, but I don't know where I've heard it before. You know, I loved the piano in "Kill the Moonlight" and I'm loving it even more on this album. This song has so much drive behind it. That's my favorite side of Spoon. Plus this is the first song with Josh Zarbo playing. Kind of like how "KTM" barely had any guitar before "Jonathon Fisk" hit. Might be the first 5 minute Spoon song I can think of, but at least they fill it very well. My favorite so far.

The Delicate Place
That electric guitar fill is some strange stuff. Definitely the simplest song so far....no but it's getting far more complicated. Insane crescendo that just dies...I love that. I didn't think I'd like that one at first, but it really made up for it in the end.

Sister Jack
The second of the three I'd heard before....but not like this. Very radio friendly and almost pop. Kind of sounds like Guided By Voices meets Wilco.

I Summon You
The last song I'd heard before. Britt played it solo when I saw them last June. Sounds about the same, but with far more instruments. It's funny how Britt has two different types of voices (raspy/throaty and forced falsetto). I love hearing him drift back and forth between the two on this one. Here's a strange comparison: it sounds almost Billy Joel-like.

The Infinite Pet
Um, wow. I don't know how to describe this one. You just have to hear it. There's more sound to this one than I've ever heard in a Spoon song. It's almost electronic. Pounding drums and the mix between the piano and fuzzy organ it just so cool.

Was It You?
Even more electronic-sounding drumming. Sounds like Beck? Weird. Yeah definitely sounds like Beck.

They Never Got You
I thought it was Hall & Oates when it first hit. Hey it's about as catchy as "Maneater" (as in, very catchy). Very typically vintage sound. Very memorable song....maybe it's the constant pounding rhythm. A little different than an earworm. This one just pounds and pounds until it's painful.

Merchants of Soul
The whole time I'm listening to this song, I'm thinking that it doesn't sound like a closing track. Then the track just ended. Oh Britt, you tricky bastard!

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All-in-all? I love it. It'll take me a few more listens to truly say it's their best, but it may be. Still very derivative. They do derivative rock way better than the Dandy Warhols. It's great....go get it.
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